


Mack and Muffins

by Springmagpies



Series: A Drabble a Day to Pass the Hiatus Away [17]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:22:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24346462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Springmagpies/pseuds/Springmagpies
Summary: Mack knows his favorite coffee shop, The Playground well. He knows the employees, the menu, even which floorboards creek. However, one grey drizzling morning, he sees someone new.
Relationships: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie/Yo Yo Rodriguez
Series: A Drabble a Day to Pass the Hiatus Away [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1595800
Comments: 12
Kudos: 23
Collections: AOS Season 7 Countdown





	Mack and Muffins

The coffee shop was never that busy in the morning. The Playground was small, tucked in the space between two much larger buildings and was really only known by the employees of nearby businesses and hipsters who enjoyed hole in the wall coffee places. Mack was part of the former. 

Working as an architect in a fancy high rise in Manhattan hadn’t exactly been what he planned on doing with his life, but he wasn’t complaining. He enjoyed what he did, really enjoyed it in fact. His coworkers were nice, he made good money that let him build his own bike and help support his family back home, and he actually enjoyed going to and from work. He liked watching the sun rise over the buildings, hear the city come to life as it went from the blue grey of morning to the warmth of the day to the rich royal blues and yellow street lights of night. 

And he liked his hole in the wall, never that busy in the morning, good cup of joe, coffee shop. He liked that it looked old, with original wood flooring from the thirties, vintage art pieces on the walls, and wrought iron work. He liked the owner, Phil, and he liked that he knew all the employees by name and they knew him as such as well. He knew that Daisy, Phil’s daughter, worked mornings and that Fitz, no relation to Phil, worked evenings. Daisy always snuck him a muffin free of charge and, if he wasn’t in a rush, would talk to him about video games and the like. If Mack had a lot of work to do outside the office after hours, he found it hard to focus in his apartment. So, often he would head straight for The Playground to work on designs there. In those cases, he would talk to Fitz about the college student’s own designs and prospects or other interesting topics of conversation. Long story short, he knew The Playground well.

So he knew for certain that he had never seen anyone other than himself--and sometimes Bobbi Morse, another regular--at The Playground at the particular time of morning he normally stopped in. However, one grey drizzling morning, he saw someone new.

The woman was standing at the register, her dark hair falling in waves down her back and her eyes scanning over the menu board. Most people who came to The Playground knew their orders by heart, so the fact that she was looking over the menu so intently only confirmed Mack’s suspicion that she was new to the place. Once she had ordered--Mack didn’t hear what exactly she had gotten--she kindly moved out of the way to stand at the opposite end of the counter where the drinks were served. The coffee shop was tiny, however, so she didn’t go far. 

“Morning, Mack,” Daisy beamed, leaning her elbows on the white marble counter. 

“Morning, Tremors,” he replied. The nickname came from the first time he had met the young barista. Apparently Fitz, they had both worked mornings back then, had challenged her to drink an ungodly amount of espresso shots. The caffeine wore off but the nickname didn’t and so she remained Tremors.

Without even needing to ask what he wanted, Daisy rang up his order as he pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans. “What muffin do you want today?” she asked. It was the only question that varied depending on what they had in the case that day. 

Mack leaned over to look at the display, a muffin of the pumpkin chocolate chip variety catching his eye. He pointed to it without touching the glass. “Make it a pumpkin,” he said.

“You got it, Mackhammer.” He really regretted telling Fitz about that. He should’ve known it would get back to Daisy. 

Rolling his eyes, he put his card on the counter and a few bills in the tip jar. As he did so, he caught the woman down the counter looking at him with a small grin pulling at the corners of her lips. They met each other’s glances for a moment before both quickly turning away. A pitter patter feeling took root in Mack’s heart. She had been smiling at him. 

“Mack,” Daisy whispered dramatically, causing him to jump slightly and turn completely back to the barista. 

“What?”

“Here’s your card,” she said. Mack wasn’t sure he liked the little knowing look that flashed across Daisy’s delighted face. 

He took the credit card from the barista’s fingers and tucked it back into his wallet, all while trying to fight the embarrassed look he felt creeping onto his features. 

“You got something you want to say, Dais?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. 

S he tucked her lips over her teeth and shook her head, her palms up and forward in surrender. She backed away from the register and moved to start on their drinks. She looked at him over the glass divider as she pulled the espresso shots for the woman’s drink. “Hey, Mack,” she said, her teasing voice returning, “is there something that you want to ask, though?” She jerked her head not so subtly in the direction of the woman awaiting her morning coffee. 

Mack looked over to the woman and back to Daisy three times before he finally got his feet to move. Taking a deep breath and summoning up his courage, Mack came to stand at the end of the counter next to the woman with the beautiful eyes and long dark hair. 

“Hi,” he greeted.

The woman turned to look across her shoulder at him. “Hello,” she said.

“I’m Mack,” he said.

“Elena.”

Mack fought the desire to rock back and forth on his heels. “So, is this your first time here?” he asked. There was a slight bang from behind the counter. It seems Daisy had hit her forehead on the espresso machine. Mack shot her a  _ give me a second _ look before turning back to Elena. She was smiling brightly again and another zing went through his body.

“I just moved here,” she said. “Thought this place looked nice.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s great. Great coffee, great pastries. Once you get your order back you’ll see.”

His timing was perfect as Daisy slid the to-go cup and pastry bag over the counter just as he was talking.

“We’ll see if you’re right,” Elena said, taking the cup. 

She lifted the cup to her lips and blew air through the hole in the lid to cool it before taking a sip. She nodded and smiled, her hair falling a bit in her face. “You were right. Guess I can trust your opinion, Mack.” 

Mack was so focused on Elena and her reaction to the cup of coffee--and the fact that she said she could trust his opinion--that it took Daisy loudly clearing her throat to draw his attention to his own finished drink and muffin.

“Right, sorry. Thanks, Tremors,” he said, unable to meet Daisy’s all knowing look. 

“Seems you need the caffeine,” Daisy murmured, “you’re acting just a bit sluggish.” She paired the emphasis on the last word with a little--okay, not so little--head tilt. 

“I’m working on it,” he whispered.

“Work faster, she’s leaving.”

Sure enough, just as Mack turned around Elena was gathering up her things. Panic and excitement kicking his brain back into gear, he stepped forward just as she did, causing them to crash right into one another. And it had all been going so well. 

Coffee splashed everywhere. On the floor, on the two of them, some even reaching across to hit Daisy. Luckily Mack had left his own drink on the counter or they would have made an even larger mess. Still, who knew coffee could splash so far. 

“Oh god! I’m so sorry,” he rushed, pulling napkins from the dispenser by the packets of sugar as Daisy ran over with a rag.

“It’s alright,” Elena assured. She took the napkins he offered her and began dabbing at her shirt. “Good thing we both wore black today. We’ll just have to stand smelling like coffee.”

Mack chuckled, hands full of more napkins frozen between them and his chin ducked to his chest. 

“Can I at least buy you a replacement coffee?” he asked.

“Don’t worry,” Daisy said, standing up from the floor she had just wiped up, “I’ll make you a new one free of charge.”

Elena thanked Daisy as she retreated back behind the counter. 

“Seems it’s all taken care of,” she said. 

His stomach still twisted into nervous knots, Mack tried to think of a way to make up for the incident. “Well, could I--”

“You could buy me dinner, though.”

His mind went blank for a moment, trying to catch up to the wondrous thing that had just happened. Again, it took Daisy loudly coughing to bring him back to Earth.

“I know that it’s a bit more than a cup of coffee, but--”

“Yes,” he blurted, “I would love to take you to dinner.”

Elena smiled that heart stopping smile. “Great,” she said, “let me give you my number.”

Once they had exchanged numbers, made a time for their date, and retrieved their coffee, Mack watched as Elena left the little coffee shop. If he hadn’t loved the place before, he definitely loved it now.


End file.
